Judge won't throw out school-prayer lawsuit

A federal judge on Wednesday refused to throw out a lawsuit in the controversial prayer case at the Medina Valley Independent School District, and allowed another student to join the fray.

Chief U.S. District Judge Fred Biery, whose decision in late May to ban organized prayer from the Medina Valley High School graduation in June sparked a public uproar, denied the district's request to dismiss the suit, which had been filed that month by the family of an agnostic student, Corwyn Schultz.

Schultz graduated in June from the high school in Castroville, but he and his family stayed away from the ceremonies because, they said, they feared for their safety after an appellate court overruled Biery and allowed prayer at the event.

The rest of the lawsuit alleges students in the district are regularly, and wrongly, subjected to prayer at school functions in violation of the First Amendment. The suit, which seeks an order barring the district from sanctioning school prayer, also said Schultz's complaints were either ignored or he was retaliated against for bringing them to the attention of school officials.

The district, in a statement, said it “remains positive that this case will ultimately result in a decision that is fair to all students and to the school district.”

“The district will continue to fight and stand up to false allegations, rumors and negative slander,” the statement said. “The district wholeheartedly stands behind the fundamental and important principles of the Constitution and believes that student freedom of expression is a right that cannot be taken away or negotiated through mediation.”

Biery's order, filed Wednesday, reiterated his earlier references to his own large caseload and noted that “the parties are spending what appears to be inordinate amounts of money and time which could be better spent on educating students.”

“That, of course, would require the parties, with the assistance of counsel, to find some reasonable compromise,” he wrote. “Or, as the modern urban philosopher Rodney King once said, ‘Can we all get along?'”

Biery's order allows a current MVHS student to temporarily join the litigation — anonymously, to avoid potential harassment. Court papers identify the student only as Pat Doe. Rob Boston, a spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which is representing the plaintiffs, said Doe is not related to the Schultzes.

Biery said Doe has until Dec. 20 to decide whether he or she wishes to remain in the suit because Doe's name is likely to be revealed in litigation.

“The court finds it sadly unfortunate that youngsters fear the people within their own community and some of the adults responsible for their education,” Biery wrote, adding that the arguments for Doe's anonymity “document a pattern of harassment, threats and intimidation of those who disagree with the majority view in the school district community.”

Assistant Superintendent Chris Martinez, in an emailed statement, said the district looks forward to speaking to Doe “in order to hear his/her viewpoints and to work to answer all questions or concerns” but added that it was “ludicrous and offensive” for Biery “to insinuate that Medina Valley community members, staff members, or students would ‘harass, threaten, or intimidate those who disagree with the majority.'”